The Netherlands is the second EU country that opted for that measure. Germany did so in January, extending for two years the regime of limited access to its labour market for Croatian workers after Croatia joins the Union on July 1.
Free access to the Dutch labour market can be postponed for a maximum seven years, the Dutch government recalled.
Employers will have to secure work permits for Croatian workers, it said.
The decision was made because of the increase in the number of the jobless in the Netherlands. The government said the influx of workers from new EU members was unexpectedly high.